Marshal Ustinov became an affordable presence flagship

Marshal Ustinov's service shows how the backup concept worked after the Soviet collapse. The cruiser visited the United States and Canada, operated in the Mediterranean and Barents Sea, and performed command and political-presence duties without establishing a major combat record. A conventional Slava was cheaper to operate as a flagship than a carrier or nuclear battlecruiser while still preserving the appearance of status. Her year-long refit, reportedly funded by selling two Sovremenny-class destroyers to China, shows the hard choices involved in keeping that presence capability available.